Cycling in Holland

April 7-10, 1997

My boyfriend Simon went to a conference just outside of Eindhoven,
Holland, and I thought that this was my opportunity for a cheap
vacation. We would take his car (via the ferry), and the hotel room
and ferry cost for two wouldn't be much more expensive than for one.

So we loaded up the car, put our touring bikes on the back, and drove
to Harwich, a port on the east coast of England, and got on the
ferry. The ferry is big, taking maybe a couple of hundred cars. The
crossing (straight east across the North Sea) takes about 9 hours.
But there are a variety of things to do on the ferry to keep you
entertained. They have a restaurant, a couple of bars, a disco, a
cafe, a duty-free shop, a couple of small theaters where they show
videos with a projector, lots of seats scattered around, including
seats on the deck outside. There are also a bunch of cabins, which are
mainly useful on the night crossings, so you can sleep as you cross
the water. We went out during the day ferry and back by night.

Monday the 7th of April was the first day of the conference. While
Simon attended talks, I went into the nearby village and found the
tourist office, where I bought a good map of the area and got
recommendations for things to see. I didn't know any Dutch, but
everyone there speaks English, so as long as you can find people to
ask directions of, you're all right. While I was at the counter asking
for advice from the ladies behind it, a guy came up and gave some
suggestions too. I headed back to the hotel for lunch, then set out
for a ride.

A bit on cycling in Holland. (Click
here
for some info on Holland from an insider.) It seems that everyone in
Holland rides a bike, and most of the bikes are exactly the same
style. There are cycle paths along all the but the smallest roads, and
they are often separated by a curb from the main roadway. Even better
yet, there are cycle paths not near any roads, which are especially
pleasant and scenic. There seems to be cycle paths along a good
portion of the major highways as well, so it's really easy to get
around by bike. In addition, it's dead flat, so if you don't like
hills, you're in cycling heaven.

The cycle paths range in pavement from smooth concrete to paving
stones, which are like large bricks set next to each other. Some of
the paths through forests were smooth dirt. The main problem I had
with the cycle paths, especially the ones separated from the roadways
by a curb, is that I felt that the cars didn't respect my right of way
nearly as much. For example, I felt that most cars leaving or entering
the roadway expected me to stop for them, while on a US roadway, I
would clearly have right of way. (Even if some cars in the US don't
recognize your right of way, it is your legal right and if you assert
your rights, most will accept it.)

Another problem was turning left. Turing left into a side road in the
US, I'd move to the left of the lane and wait for traffic coming the
other way to clear, and I'd go, and cars coming my way would pass to
the right of me. In Holland you are not allowed in the roadway if
there's a cycle path, so you have to stop on the cycle path, and then
wait for both lanes to clear before you go. this is a real pain. And
if you're turning left at an interection with traffic lights, you have
to go through the intersection, and then stop on the far side to wait
until the lights change before you can cross the road you've just been
going along to get to the cycle lane on the street you're turning on
to.

At the traffic circles there are separate, clearly marked lanes for
bikes, outside the lanes for cars, which is something I have seen
nowhere else. Here in Cambridge, there are plenty of traffic circle
(roundabouts) and cycle lands, but the cycle lanes end at the traffic
circles, and you have to find your own way through. I just act as I
would if I were driving a car, but some people are very nervous about
doing this.

Anyway, on to my ride. I headed east, going on bike paths
("fietspad") through woods until I got to the Strabrechtse Heide. This
is a dry sandy area. As I rode around I felt that I was in
Africa... On my way back I stopped in a cafe on the edge of the woods
and had a couple of cheese sandwiches. I managed about 50 miles that
day.

The next day my goal was the Achelse Kluis, a monastary just over the
border into Belgium, where they used to brew beer. Evidently they
don't any more, but they have a good beer store and a cafe where you
could try some of the beers. Being a big fan of beer, I thought this
was a good idea. I went south to the village of Achel-Statie, where I
looked around a bit and bought some bike food. They happily took my
Dutch money. For some reason I didn't notice that the Achelse Kluis
was actually on my map, so I asked directions, and then managed to get
slightly lost. Finally, after asking directions from some fellow
bikers (themselves clearly tourists) and locating Achelse Kluis on my
map, I made it there safely.

I was disapointed to find out that the cafe was closed, so I
couldn't drink beer there. Oh, well. I bought an ice cream at a van
just outside the gates, and went to a neaerby cafe where I has some
nice brown beer, and then I headed on.

I went north through the Leenderbos, a big woodsy area, and rode
around the paths there for awhile. Eventually I headed back to the
conference center, having done a bit over 40 miles for the day.

Coming back I felt an annoying twinge in my left elbow. I felt
alot of this last year, and it had done much to keep me off the
bike. I think it was mostly caused by typing too much and in a bad
position. Anyway, it had mostly gone away. But for the past several
weeks I hadn't been getting out cycling, telling myself that I'd be
doing plenty of it in Holland. And so when I suddenly did over 90
miles in 2 days, my elbow was not happy.

So I decided to take a day off and go far a walk instead. I went north
to a Parrot Park, where I fed the parrots seeds, and one of them
mangaed to bite my finger, causing a small blood blister.

The next day the conference went only until about noon, so I went
for a shortish ride to the area of woods north of Borkel Schaft. This
was only a few miles west of where I'd been when visiting the Achelse
Kluis. There were some big lakes here, with lots of birds, and it was
a sunny warmish day, and I completely enjoyed the ride. I only did
about 30 miles that day, but it was very enjoyable. Again I felt the
annoyance in my left elbow. I'd have to be more careful in the future
with it...

So in the end I had a very good time riding around while Simon
attended talks. I found that I learned far more about the area than
Simon, knowing much better what the people did (farming), what the
soil was like (very sandy), what the natural areas looked like. I even
learned a few words of Dutch (picking them up in context, in
conversations and on road signs, and trying to comprehend tourist
brocures).

I felt a bit ashamed of being a "conference wife", but my independence
was pretty clear to people, as I spent my days cycling around,
exploring the local area. Also, it was pretty clear that I knew a fair
bit about the subject of the conference (asynchronous circuits), if
anyone got into discussing techincal stuff.